Shoe tree



Patented Mar. 2, 1948 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2,457,028 sHoE TREE William F. Horsting, Wilmette, 111.

Application December 8, 1945, Serial No. 633,687

2 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe trees and more particularly to shoe trees of the type adapted to be placed in shoes to maintain their shape during non-use.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a shoe tree which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object is to provide a shoe tree which is adjustable throughout an infinite number of steps to fit any one of a number of shoes of different sizes.

Still another object is to provide a shoe tree which can be adjusted while in place in a shoe to produce the desired degree of tightness or stretch of the shoe.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a top plan View of a shoe tree embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation with parts in section; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged partial section through the rods connecting the heel and toe pieces.

The shoe tree, as shown, comprises a toe piece In which may be molded from plastics or like materials. As shown, the toe piece is hollow, is open at the bottom and is provided with a number of perforations II in its upper portion to facilitate circulation of air therethrough.

At its rearward end, the toe piece is formed with a pair of rearwardly extending ears l2 which may be integrally molded with the toe piece and which are spaced to receive between them the flattened end of a rod I3. The ears and the flattened end of the rod are pinned together by a rivet M, the fit preferably being suificiently loose to permit a limited pivotal movement between the rod and toe piece so that the toe Piece may enter more easily the toe portion of a shoe.

A heel piece I5 is provided which may be spherical in shape, as shown, and which may be formed of molded plastic, of wood or like material. The heelpiece l5 has rigidly secured thereto a rod l6 which may be molded for driven into the heel piece.

The outer ends of the rods I3 and I6 are threaded, as indicated at l! and I8, with threads of opposite hand. A turnbuckle I9 is threaded over the ends of the rods so that by turning the turnbuckle, the rods will simultaneously move into or out of it to vary their effective length, thereby to adjust the effective size of the shoe tree. The turnbuckle I9 is preferably tubular in shape, as shown, and may be knurled or roughened on its exterior to facilitate gripping by the fingers of a user.

In order that the shoe tree may be easily inserted in a shoe, one of the rods is provided with a hinge permitting the rods to be swung upward relative to the heel and toe pieces. As shown, the rod I3 is divided and has its separate sections connected by a hinge pin 2| extending horizontally therethrough. With this construction, the heel piece can be swung downward relative to the toe piece, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, to shorten the efiective length of the shoe tree so that it can be inserted more easily in a shoe. The hinge is preferably formed with engaging stop portions 22 and 23 at the top of the hinge to limit downward swinging of the rods when the tree is inserted in a shoe so that the rods cannot buckle. The stops may conveniently be arranged to enable the rods to swing slightly past center to produce a locking toggle effect so that the tree will stay rigidly in place once it is inserted.

In using the shoe tree of the invention; the effective length of the rods can be adjusted through the turnbuckle l9 to fit any one of a number of shoes in a given size range. Furthermore with this construction, when the shoe tree is in place in a shoe it can easily be adjusted by turning the turnbuckle to fit the shoe with any desired degree of tightness.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe tree comprising a hollow toe piece of relatively thin plastic curving downward at its forward end and sides and having a straight cross piece at its back connected to the sides and extending through the full depth of the toe piece, the toe piece being open at the bottom and having openings through its upper surface, a pair of ears extending outward from the back surface of the cross piece, a rod having a flattened end extending between and pivotally pinned to the ears, a heel piece, a rod connected to the heel piece, the ends of the rods being formed with threads of opposite hand, a turnbuckle threaded on the rods to adjust the efiective length thereof, and a hinge in one of the rods to enable the rods to swing upward relative to the toe and heel pieces.

2. A shoe tree comprising a hollow toe Piece of relatively thin plastic curving downward at its forward end and sides and having a straight cross piece at its back connected to the sides and extending through the full depth of the toe piece, the toe piece being open at the bottom and having openings through "its upper surface, a pair 'of aears extending outward from the back surface ofthe cross piece, a rod having a flattened end extending between and pivotally pinned to the ears, a heel piece, a rod connected to the heel piece,.ttl1e ends of the rods being formed with threads of opposite hand, a turnbuckle threaded on thelrods 4 in the first-named rod to enable it to buckle upward relative to the toe and heel pieces.

WILLIAM F. HORSTING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 786,783 Benkert Apr. 4, 1905 849,894 Fuller Apr. 9, 1907 1,289,925 Schelter et a1 Dec. 31, 1918 15 356321144 iSchoshusen June '14, 1927 21359 469 Droll --Oct. 3, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 0 77,925 Switzerland June 1, 1918 369,641 #France Mar. 3, 1906 to adjust the effective length thereof, and ahinge 

